Friday, December 6, 2013

Kringle Thingles 2-5

On Monday, we found Kringle sitting on top of our little Christmas tree! (Our big tree is still in LA...we hope to get it soon!)

We talked about the Christmas Tree & many neat things about it.

1-The Christmas Tree looks a little bit like an arrow that points us to Heaven & reminds us about Jesus.

2-It's made of wood-like the cross that Jesus died on.

3-The branches of the tree kind of look like Jesus' arms spread out like when He died on the cross for us & like He is opening His arms to welcome us & love on us.

The book goes into a lot more detail & tells the story of Saint Boniface. It's very interesting. (Seriously, the book is worth purchasing!)

Dec 3- Ornaments

Tuesday afternoon [Kringle doesn't always move at night...sometimes he does later in the day just to keep us hoppin. (Not b/c I forget to move him or am not prepared to talk about the next thing. Duh.)] Jax found Kringle at the same tree, but he was surrounded by ornaments to decorate the tree.

The significance of the ornaments is a really long story, but basically came from a reenactment of the story of Adam & Eve for Adam & Eve Day (December 24) in Medieval Europe. It was impossible to find a fruit tree in the winter cold, so the play director thought up the idea to hang fruit from an evergreen tree. The popularity grew & the tradition of the decorated tree continued long after the story reenactments. On December 24th, German families put up a "paradise tree" & began making it their own. They would hide gingerbread men, sugar-coated nuts, & fruit & veggie shaped marzipan in their trees. The most important "decorations" of the tree were the small round wafers of bread that were hung all over the tree. They represented the body of Christ that was broken to cover all of our sins.

As we decorate our tree with ornaments we are to remember that b/c if one person [Adam] who disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because of one other person [Jesus] who obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight. (Romans 5:19)

Dec 4-Christmas lights

On Wednesday we learned about the Christmas lights on the tree.

The story says it originates from Martin Luther walking through the forest one night & the stars were shining so brightly, when he looked up at them from underneath the trees, it seemed as if the stars were sitting in the trees shining. It took his breath away! When he got home, wanted to attempt recreate it for his family & thought of placing lit candles in a tree. (Sounds like a brilliant idea...) His family was impressed with its beauty.

Thankfully, we have a much safer way to light up the tree with Christmas lights. When we light it up, we are reminded of Psalm 19:1-1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Praise God!!

Day 5-The Star

On Thursday we talked about the star that goes on the top of the tree. Of course, it is to remind us of the star that God placed in the sky for the wise men to follow to see Jesus.

I just love Lisa Welchel's words from Truth in the Tinsel. I've got to quote her.

"God who has directed the course of history from the moment He created the heavens & the earth wanted to set the stage for the most momentous night... So He placed a spotlight in the heavens to shine on the real star of the show: a humble Child who was more than a child.

The Bible says of the Magi that, 'the sight of the star filled them with indescribable joy.' (Matthew 2:10, Phillips)

We too can experience that joy as we fix the gaze of our hearts on Jesus, the Bright & Morning Star."

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I am so loving learning & worshipping the Lord in this special way each day!!

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Meet the Dunns

We are the Dunn family! Dustie, Jenni, Jax, John, Jeb, & our 4-legged child Hootie James. We are a Christ-loving & following family. It is our joy to “do” life with other believers & it is our mission to share our joy with those who do not know Christ so that they may also have a relationship with Him. This blog is a digital scrapbook for our friends & family, as well as a look into our life (the good, the bad, the ugly) as we journey this side of Glory. We hope you enjoy following our life as God leads us through many wonderful adventures! We love to live this abundant life!
Philippians 1:20
Ephesians 3:20-21